Tag Archives: Great Lakes

Is the Michigan summer open road taking you to Mackinac Island or just into the Upper Peninsula and St. Ignace? If so, take some time to drive westbound U.S. Route 2, one of the major east-west drives in the U.P. Once you are about ten miles off I-75 and the Mackinac Bridge you will find yourself along the Lake Michigan shoreline.

You will be on a part of the official Lake Michigan Circle Tour. For miles and miles it will be just lake, beach, sand dunes and brush straight ahead. The brush along the road is narrow, along with the beach that snugs the northern shore of the Great Lake.

There are plenty of places to park the car alongside the road to walk the beach. Despite being here in the middle of the summer, I had the scenery all to myself.

Well without further ado, some more pics of my time out on the open road in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan:

A while back I got in the car in the dark and road-tripped a couple of hours to Hoffmaster State Park on the West Side of Michigan. I arrived on the parks Lake Michigan beach about an hour after sunrise.

Why the early start to the day? The pictures say it all. Warm it was not so I had the state parks three miles of beach along the Great Lake all to myself. I hung out with the sand dunes, blue sky and cold Lake Michigan waters as I walked. 🙂

Where else in Michigan would you recommend going for an early morning beach walk along Lake Michigan?

What do I always seem to be looking for when viewing and capturing a city skyline? This past weekend at Edgewater Park in Cleveland, I realized my skyline viewing and capturing template was right in front of me.

Head to the western entrance of the Cleveland Metropark, where you will find the upper area and Perkins Beach. Once in the park you will head up-top by taking Upper Edgewater Drive that veers off to the right.

Upon parking walk into the park, head towards the shoreline and the Cleveland skyline will quickly come into view. I’m up-top check.

There is a romantic park bench and/or picnic table up-top to soak in the views. Check.

The body of water the city sits along is easily in view. Check. In this case how could you miss the vast Lake Erie.

Lots of sand and beachfront straight ahead, check.

Blue sky aplenty along with trees and other objects to capture unique views of the city. Check.

The ability to head down from up-top and get a closer look. The final check. In this case you are able to walk on the beach, along the shoreline and on the dirt trails that run alongside.

While at the park make sure to take the time to capture the Great Lake. It is beautiful no matter the season and time of year.

It was a fun afternoon at Edgewater Park in Cleveland. The realization of what my skyline viewing template is became more clear. Oh yeah! There is one more piece to that puzzle. It has to be a place where the blue shoes can easily lay down and soak everything in. 🙂

We will see which of the things I said check to will apply at my next skyline viewing endeavor. I’ve set a standard for myself.

What things do you look for when viewing and capturing a city skyline?

Every time I’m in Cleveland, usually once a season, I gravitate towards Edgewater Park which sits just west of downtown. This week was no exception. I made a stop there right before sunset on a cold, wintry day. Lake Erie, one of the Great Lakes, was there to greet me front and center. No land as far as the eye can see.

The pier was closed, but makes for a great spot for hanging out, chasing pigeons and soaking in the views in the warmer months. More on this in a moment. 🙂

I slowly starting walking along the frozen lake, changing my view-point from due north to east. Two things were starting to come into view.

Straight ahead now was an open snowy path and the Cleveland skyline! I was out on the open trail towards downtown.

Due to the amount of snow in the Midwest this season I didn’t get very far as the snow pack was deep. That didn’t stop me from just standing there and taking the scenery in though.

After a little bit it was getting closer to sunset so I turned to the west and was greeted with something beautiful.

Back to the pier, this park makes me smile even more, because it’s where I fell in love with the love of my life. A few years back we were in the initial dating stage, hanging out at the park. She was busy chasing some of the aforementioned pigeons off the pier. I was watching her in action and I thought to myself for the first time, “I am falling in love with this girl”. 🙂

Now wonder I keep coming back here. It’s not all about travel and scenery at this spot along Lake Erie, but romance too. Happy Valentine’s Day to all!

Are there any memorable parks, trails or spots along the water that you have spent time in around home or in your travels?

Welcome to The Adventures of elATLboy. Im a lover of travel, the ATL, Pure Michigan, road trips and coffee. I’ll playfully talk about my past, current and future travels from Michigan, Atlanta, New Zealand and beyond.

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